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At 4am the alarm went off, we got dressed, had breakfast and waited for our driver/guide. At 5am he arrived, but had to spend a while confirming to Andrew that he could procure a donkey/horse for the day. Andrew had arrived at the guesthouse late the night before after causing a bit of a storm in Kazarman by refusing to stay in the guesthouse he had booked and demanding to come to Bujumal's house. A retired mathematician, he is easily the most ill-prepared traveller we have met. The morning we left for the climb he had no day pack, no walking shoes only black office shoes, and as soon as he put on his brown corduroy jacket I knew he was an academic.
We climbed into the Russian jeep, and Fintan was very excited to be riding in one of these - apparently he's always wanted to! The ride was pretty bumping and loud - no insulation like our Yoshimi! We arrived at a yurt camp about 7am and the negotiations began… we drove to several yurts and three times a deal seem to be struck… at each yurt dealing we were offered something; bread, kefir, some sheep intestine/tail… eventually, back at the first yurt we'd visited, a deal was agreed upon. A boy herded a donkey to the jeep and it was loaded in.
We headed up a very steep, very narrow track over the mountain. I didn't know who was more afraid - me or the donkey. We arrived at the shepherds hut at about 10am to start the walk we should've started at 7am! So much for our early start!
From the village at 1,230m above sea level, we climbed to Saimaluu Tash at 3,200m. Up and down, up and down… obviously mostly up! The donkey was very reluctant to be included on this trip and made his feelings known by refusing to move. So the guide herded the donkey that Andrew sat on, while Fintan and I strode ahead. It was good to have the excuse to stop for them to catch up… A pretty useless donkey for 3 hours of negotiations!
The walk was beautiful and not too difficult until the last stretch. We had to walk over an iced over river (the donkey flatly refused to go over this, so the guide had to carry the lunch up the rest of the way) then scramble up a loose scree slope, then up a very steep grassy slope (I held onto the grass to pull me up!) And eventually I just sat down and refused to go any further until after we'd eaten! This was a 2:30pm and we'd eaten breakfast at 4:30am! Lunch was a squashed bag of samosas, boiled eggs, tomatoes, bread, cheese and apples but it was enough to help us get up the last slope to the petroglyphs.
At the summit we walked around taking photos and enjoying the view, until we decided it was time to head back to the car. All in all it was an 8 ½ hour round trip. Back at the car we had to load the donkey again… First the guide got in the boot of the jeep and had the halter in hand while instructing Andrew and Fintan to lift the donkeys legs in, fore then hind… again, the donkey wasn't so keen on this plan. I think he remembered this vehicle ride… So Fintan got in the boot and the guide lifted the donkeys legs and between them they managed it, to the donkeys despair.
After dropping the donkey home, we were driven back to Bujumal's for showers and dinner. While we were out the family had bought a Tyran puppy (a huge mountain dog the nomadic herders use). He was so cute and fluffy, Fintan was instantly besotted and suggested we puppy-nap him!
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Trace Brilliant! So you're not thinking about doing the rest of your trip by donkey then....?